Only about 13,000 of Rhode Island’s 252,000 children are without health insurance, according to data compiled by Jill Beckwith of Rhode Island Kids Count. Some 137,000 receive insurance through employer sponsored health plans, 86,000 received insurance through RIte Care in Medicaid managed plans through Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island and UnitedHealthcare, another 9,000 receive coverage through the Direct Pay plan offered by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, and 7,000 receive coverage through non-Medicaid government plans.

Of the uninsured children, Beckwith’s data estimates that about three-quarters are eligible for coverage under RIte Care, but live in families that do not know about the program or face administrative barriers.

The outcomes achieved by advocates for children’s health care needs were underscored by an equally important fact: the tremendous support provided by a coalition of Rhode Island’s elected officials and business and community leaders, nurtured by Elizabeth Burke Bryant, the executive director of Rhode Island Kids Count, over the past two decades.

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